1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to viewing, listening, and downloading data in a multimedia program, and more directly to a system and method for enabling scheduling of a future viewing, listening, and data downloading event based on information presented in a current multimedia program.
2. Description of Prior Art
The current broadcast television environment is based on a scheduling concept. The content is broadcast according to a predetermined schedule. Television viewers either access content randomly, i.e., xe2x80x9cchannel surfingxe2x80x9d or with a specific program schedule in mind. The schedule information is usually obtained from conventional means, such as printed schedules found in newspapers or from broadcast program guides. The broadcast program guides are the interactive or electronic program guides commonly included in most cable systems. The same is true for radio listeners and subscribers of the new satellite digital audio broadcasts.
Broadcasters often advertise future content through the use of promotional ads, which describe a future broadcast event. The advertisement is broadcast with the aim of attracting viewers to watch or listen to the event at the event""s scheduled time. The viewers must either remember the schedule and tune to it at the appropriate time, or program a recording device to record the event.
While systems for viewer navigation through broadcast multimedia presentations are known in the art, most are based on the electronic program guide paradigm. This paradigm disconnects the program guide information from the television content i.e., audio and video, sending it as a separate entity.
The capability to include scheduling information as part of a recorded multimedia presentation is known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 4,802,038 describes a system for recording scheduling information concerning audio events, however this system is designed for this information to be used at the recording site and not broadcast to viewers.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,381,522, 5,686,954, 4,977,455 and 5,727,060 describe the use of electronic program guides for allowing viewers to interactively tune to broadcast programs, typically through cursor navigation within an on-screen graphics matrix. The information that makes up the electronic program guides is broadcast as a separate stream and is not part of a multimedia presentation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,641,205 describes a menu-driven user interface for scheduling VCR programming of a future event. However, the menu information is general and is not related to any broadcasting schedule. U.S. Pat. No. 5,307,173 describes a means for programming a VCR on the basis of compressed codes. The system described is used in VCR Plus(copyright) systems. Aside from displaying the codes on the television screen when they are entered, there is no functional linkage between the programming of the VCR and the content viewed on the television.
No means presently exist which will allow the viewer to interact with scheduling information which is provided along with the current video or audio presentation. Hence, no means presently exist to cause scheduling to occur based on a simple one-button selection from the controls of the receiving equipment, such as a remote control. Similarly, no means presently exist to cause scheduling to occur automatically without a user""s current input based on user preference information which has been stored in a user""s receiving device.
What is needed is a system that allows the scheduling information to be part of the multimedia presentation itself and provides an easy user interface to cause the scheduling to occur. A system is needed, that allows scheduling to occur semi-automatically under the direction of a user and assisted by embedded scheduling information, or automatically by the user""s device without a user""s current input.
A method is therefore provided for automatic and semi-automatic scheduling of events in the context of a multimedia presentation including audio, video and digital data. The scheduling information of a future broadcast program is ascertained and may be embedded into the content of a multimedia presentation. To enable automatic scheduling, program description information (PDI) must be embedded as well. The presentation is then displayed on the user""s television set, radio, a computer or any other receiving device with capabilities of the present invention, depending on the data type.
The receiving device determines whether scheduling information was received and extracts it by setting preferences, tuning a program selection, and then repeatedly checking the data queue in anticipation of scheduling information. In the case of semi-automatic scheduling, when scheduling information is received and after waiting for an appropriate time, a user is notified of the availability of scheduling information. The notification may be performed by various means which are selectable by the user.
The user then may make a selection, by a single key press on an input device, such as a remote control, to schedule a future event. If user""s equipment includes a video monitor, the selection may be made using an on-screen graphics menu. Both the notification of the user and the making of the selection by the user are performed without interrupting the presentation being played currently. The presentation itself may be a video, an audio or any other type of digital data.
In the case of automatic scheduling, the user""s equipment, such as a set-top-box (STB) may perform the selection without the user""s current input, on the basis of user preference information which has been pre-stored in the STB or other device. In this case, PDI, e.g., keywords such as xe2x80x9csportsxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cLakersxe2x80x9d, or xe2x80x9cGary Cooperxe2x80x9d must be embedded and transmitted along with the scheduling information.
After the selection is made, the contents of the scheduling information are processed by looping until either the notification time has passed in which case the notification is terminated and the queue monitoring is resumed, or the user has made a selection. If the user has made the selection, the notification is terminated and the process waits until the scheduled presentation time is reached.
When the scheduled presentation time is reached the following functions for xe2x80x9cschedule executionxe2x80x9d may be performed:
1. tuning the receiving device to play the subsequent program;
2. recording a subsequent program or its selected embedded content at the scheduled time on an external video recording medium for video, on an external audio recording medium for audio, and on internal or external digital data recording medium for other digital data; and
3. reminding the user of the scheduled event at the scheduled time, with a video or audio notification, which will allow the user to tune the STB device to play the program.